Simon sucks. They should drop him already, but he's tight with Ted olan, so I doubt it will happen. Most Islander fans are indifferent to him at best. He's an enforcer, but he doesn't do much, really. Andy Sutton is I think being groomed for that role - he's an awesome ope ice hitter.

I didn't mind when Simon smacked Hollweg so much, cause Hollweg is a sneeaky little bitch and he had just boarded Simon, but tonight was just stupid. He tripped the guy first, I thought. Then stomped him. Jackass.

Sources tell TSN that the New York Islanders and veteran forward Chris Simon have agreed that time away from the team is needed to come to terms with his recent on-ice behavior and potentially, his playing future.

Islanders owner Charles Wang met Simon earlier today to discuss the direction best suited to provide Simon with the support he deserves.

Simon has been granted time away from the team to seek counselling, or any other method to help restore his career.

"The Islanders and I agree that the right thing to do is for me to take some time away from the team" said Simon in a prepared statement.

"I have enjoyed a long career achieving my dream of being a player in the National Hockey League and I'm proud of my accomplishments. But I acknowledge that time and assistance is needed before I return to the game."

"The actions of Chris Simon on Saturday do not reflect what the New York Islanders stand for. They were reckless, potentially dangerous and against our team concept of grit, character and heart," said Islanders owner Charles Wang.

"We know Chris as a respected teammate and as a gracious man away from the playing surface and believe strongly that he has earned our continued support. The Islanders are going to provide some time for Chris away from the team and give him the counseling he needs and the compassion he deserves. When Chris is completely ready, he will be a member of our team again."

The meetings stem from Simon's actions on Saturday night where he purposely stomped on Jarkko Ruutu's leg.

Simon was assessed a match penalty and awaits further discipline from the NHL.

"I want to start off by making clear that there is no excuse for my actions on Saturday night and I apologize to everyone involved," Simon added.

A breakdown of Simon's 7 previous suspensions:

25 games for a high stick on Ryan Hollweg
2 games for kneeing Sergie Zubov
2 games for cross checking Ruslan Fedotenko
2 games for elbowing Anders Eriksson
1 playoff game for cross checking Peter Popivic
3 games for verbal commentes directed at Mike Grier
5 games for slashing Dennis Vial

We're going to miss Simon's awesome puck handling and blistering wrist shots from the top of the circles. That's for sure!

Granted, we no longer have that one guy that just scares people, so that sorta sucks. Maybe WANG can buy a machine that will combine Sutton and Witt. We will call him: ANDY WITT! or BRENDAN SUTTON! Yeah, I like that. Get on that, Wang....lol. Wang.

Simon has always had some issues. It just seems like he goes beyond physical/tough and tends to cross the line to dirty more often than you'd like in a supposed "tough guy". I also seem to recall an incident involving the N-word also, maybe to Mike Grier? Maybe somebody remembers...